Savannah optimising lithium mine project in Boticas to reduce impact on environment

UK listed Savannah Resources said on Tuesday it is “optimising” the lithium exploration project in Boticas to address concerns raised by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and reduce the overall environmental impact in the region.

Savannah Resources, the company that wants to explore the lithium mine in Covas do Barroso, Boticas municipality, Vila Real district, said in early July that it had been notified by the APA to reformulate the project, before the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) was issued.

The Environmental Impact Study (EIA) of the Barroso mine was in public consultation between April and July last year.

In a statement today, the company said it remains on “track” to submit the EIA during the 1st quarter of 2023, “ahead of the March 17 deadline”.

Savannah said that, in collaboration with its team of engineers and environmental consultants, both local and international, it has developed “an updated project ‘layout’ and mine plan” that it believes “addresses the concerns raised by the APA and its assessment committee, while reducing the overall environmental impact of the project”.

“The changes are not expected to have a negative impact on the volume or quality of anticipated spodumena production,” the statement stressed.

Work “is now largely focused on revisions to the EIA documents”, noting it was “nearing completion of a series of virtual and face-to-face meetings with APA and other member groups of APA’s EIA assessment committee, which were initiated in July.

“We have continued to work closely with the APA to find agreeable solutions to the concerns they raised about the original Savannah EIA. The APA team has been very helpful and constructive during this process, and we thank them for the positive attitude adopted to address these concerns as we seek to optimise the project and reduce its environmental impact on the region,” Savannah Resources chief executive officer (CEO) Dale Ferguson said, quoted in the statement.

He added that the Savannah team and its group of consultants “have been working hard on the necessary revisions,” and said he was “very pleased with the updated project layout and mine plan” created.

Following the presentation of the updated EIA, expected in March, the APA will have a maximum of 50 working days to carry out its analysis and issue its DIA decision.

The Barroso mine is located in an area of the parishes of Dornelas and Covas do Barroso and is planned to exploit lithium and other open-pit minerals. The planned concession area is 593 hectares.

The mining operation is contested locally, and the association “Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso” (United in Defence of Covas do Barroso) has been created, alerting to the consequences of the mine at the level of “water consumption, proximity to the village, the open-cast mine and the slag heaps”.